Bancroft season 2: Everything you need to know

ITV's latest murder-mystery Bancroft left viewers transfixed – and a little bit frustrated – as it played out over the space of four nights.

Starring Broadchurch's Sarah Parish as Detective Superintendent Elizabeth Bancroft, the show centred around the unsolved 1990 disappearance of a local woman named Laura Fraser and how it connected to Bancroft's troubling past.

ITV officially commissioned a second season following the first run being one of the channel's best performing dramas of 2017 with an average audience of 6.7 million and a 25.1% audience share, so here's everything we know so far.

Bancroft season 2 release date: When can we expect it?

We actually got the first outing of Bancroft a bit earlier than expected after ITV's four-part miniseries based on the Hatton Garden robbery was delayed for unknown reasons until 2018, meaning that Bancroft took its place.

The second season hasn't got an official date yet, but will go into production later in 2018, meaning we'll probably get it in 2019, or maybe December 2018 if they want to stick to the first season's release.

Bancroft season 2 plot: How does season 1 set it up?

So the huge twist of the final episode was that Bancroft wasn't in love with Laura's husband Tim Fraser but Laura herself, and it was her rejection that led to Bancroft frantically stabbing her lover to death in 1990 – which we saw in the first episode.

Detective Sergeant Katherine Stevens was on to Bancroft's dodgy ways though and slept with her son Joe in order to get the DNA to link Bancroft to the murder, as you do. In order to stop Stevens from revealing the truth, Bancroft shot her in the head during an armed raid and pinned it on the mobster, unaware that Stevens was filming everything. Whoops.

Photo credit: ITV

Despite being shot in the head, Stevens survived and was in a coma as the season ended, with Bancroft given a promotion due to her heroics in taking down the gangster. Things are quite as good at home though after her son discovered she lied about his real father, who apparently is Tim Fraser based on what Bancroft told her bosses.

We imagine season two will pick up on these threads as it explores the extent of Bancroft's corruption, whether or not Stevens remembers anything if she wakes up from her coma, if the camera footage remains of Bancroft shooting Stevens and whether the evidence eventually proves to be damning, despite Bancroft talking her way out of it.

Photo credit: ITV

The official synopsis for season two states that Bancroft's successful promotion to Detective Chief Superintendent has led to crime figures being down. However, it's come at a cost as she's estranged from her son who has been inadvertently dragged into the middle of a double murder case.

Oh, and there's that dangerous pact with crime boss Daanish Kamara to worry about too.

Bancroft season 2 cast: Who's in it?

Without official confirmation of the second season, we'd have to assume that it'd bring back the main characters from the first run including, of course, Sarah Parish as Bancroft and Game of Thrones' Faye Marsay as Stevens.

Photo credit: ITV

We should also see Linus Roache as Tim Fraser (especially if he actually is Joe's father), Amara Karan as forensic scientist Anya Karim, Adam Long as Bancroft's son Joe, Art Malik as retiring Detective Chief Superintendent Alan Taheeri, Adrian Edmondson as Superintendent Clifford Walker and Ryan McKen as Daanish Kamara, among others.

Bancroft season 2 trailer: When's it arriving?

We didn't even get a trailer for season one until just a week before its premiere, but given its success, we imagine a season two trailer will be released a bit earlier than that. Still, don't expect it to drop anytime before late 2018.